Study and design of the aerodynamic package of a Formula Student

In this project, the study and design of a typical aerodynamic package of a Formula Student prototype was conducted. The devices included in the study were the undertray, the front wing and the rear wing. Such devices were theoretically designed for the Vilanova Formula Team (VFT) prototype of the season 2017/18, the NOVA4. The goal value for downforce to be generated by the aero package was set at 500 N. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were used to analyze the aerodynamic characteristics of the designed models. Steady flow simulations were performed with the software Siemens NX10 Flow. A RANS (Reynolds-Average Navier-Stokes)-based turbulence model was used: the k-ε. Mesh grid optimization was performed for each device. Six different versions of undertray were designed. The selected airfoil profile for the wings was the EPPLER E423 after an analysis was conducted. After, a two element front wing was designed. For the rear wing, a multi-element wing with three profiles was developed. The selected version for the undertray was capable of generating 145 N of downforce. The forces achieved by the front wing and rear wing designs were of 224 N and 207 N, respectively. The total downforce generated by the aero package reached 576 N. Furthermore, a balance of forces had to be performed by the Dynamics department of the VFT. Although the set goal downforce value was achieved, a balanced aerodynamic force diagram could not be obtained